[KR; 2024] Day 7 & 8 - Solo Jeju | Cafes \ Changkkom \ Jeju City

Day 7

Last full day in Jeju before heading home :( I think I adjusted pretty well to Jeju after a few days.

 

Cafe the Container

Decided to do a little cafe hopping and explore the east side of Jeju - I was limited to where I could go because the weather forecast predicted a rainy afternoon.

Start of my bus rides:

After a little journey...

Cafe the Container 카페 더 콘테나
https://maps.app.goo.gl/HtboLPV5SMrgLc5T8

The entrance was quite cute:

I ordered their popular rice cakes and a glass of orange juice:

It felt really away from the bustling city!

I didn't come in the right season for Jeju orange, but the cafe left a few as display where you can still take photos of them. I believe during the season, you can purchase a basket to pluck them:

이도정 어부 식당

Was feeling a little hungry and stopped over this place while waiting for the next bus to arrival in the interchange:

 

이도정 어부 식당
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7vBiymbt3Qn1mtiTA

I was shocked by the amount of food, I told the ahjumma I could not finish them, and she laughed and replied me "it is just a few fishes" :O

Aside from that, everything was good from the main dishes to the side dishes. That was the most filling meal I ever had in Jeju~

Changkkom

Spotted an interesting spot on google map while on the bus and decided to check it out:

Changkkom 창꼼 (창 고망난 돌)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/5cWMvLsJHxArsHty8

It is an iconic "rock hole" in Jeju and there was a queue line to take a photo with it. An ahjussi kindly helped me to take photo and he was very professional. And this place appeared in the K-drama: Extraordinary Attorney Woo!

Long Play 롱플레이 (Permanently closed)

I was lucky that I visited this cafe before they officially closed their business - it was a cafe opened by Lee Hyori & her husband.

It was quite a nice and small cafe with good music, it was a pity that they had to close down the business otherwise I would recommend to visit. The drinks and desserts were great!

London Bagel Museum

London Bagel Museum 런던베이글뮤지엄 제주점
https://maps.app.goo.gl/TDmWigDcn3mUG7rh6

Everyone told me that the queue was short in Jeju but apparently not? It was going to rain so I didn't queue for the bagel which I sort of regret it.. I guess next time!

There was a pretty sea view at the back of the museum:

 

 

Back to Jeju City

Had to cut the trip to the east short because of the rain, and it was so comforting seeing people eat fishcakes in the rainy weather - if I didn't stuff myself with so much food I probably grabbed one too.

Decided to popby emart before dinner:

Emart Sinjeju 이마트 신제주점
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4kYgx4uPeMKW1wYy5

This was probably a wrong decision made throughout the whole trip to choose Emart over Lotte, story at the end...

So I occurred 2 issues in emart:

1) They had members and non-members pricing, but I'm not sure was it written clearly in the price poster or I'm just bad in Korean, so I totally missed it out and paid some items at a higher price.

2) Tax refund was available for tourist if you spend a certain amount and above - I bought a few items and met the minimum amount. I approached the tax refund counter, and the staff (he couldn't speak much English), just shouted at me "NO TAX REFUND". I was like why - and he couldn't explain, his colleagues all avoided and laughed at the side, and he continued to chase me off.

Firstly, why hire a group of staff who couldn't speak English (there were like 3 of them) at the tax refund counter which was for tourists. Secondly, if your staff cannot speak English, at the minimum to have some instructions in English common issues with tax refunds. After my own investigation, so apparently some products are non-taxed like local produces?

Conclusion, I should have went Lotte mart which was just right beside instead of being humiliated by emart staff. Meh.

 

Dinner @ Gooksu Daepyo

Gooksu Daepyo 국수대표
https://maps.app.goo.gl/h1Ln3HzHRF6pKXBZ7

I found a small eatery that saved the day:

The owner was really friendly and nice - they tried their best to navigate me through the menu in simple English. I ordered pork spicy noodles and it was really great!

Officially ended my day with this bowl of noodles.

Day 8

I booked Scoot flight back to Singapore - I had a 20% discount voucher that I need to use. The flight was superb early like 8+am. I really hated early morning flights as I tend to be worried missing the alarm and not taking a good night rest. Making things worse, it was raining the whole night so they were sending out flood alerts every few hours...

So I decided to head to the airport early, like 3 hours in advance, just in case things changes due to the heavy rain. I got an uber rather quickly, and guess what... I was the first person in the queue HAHAHA. Despite that, the counter staff told me the flight seats were fully reserved and I need to take the last row window seat. Being first but no seat options - it doesn't make much sense.

Remember my over-weighted luggage at Gimpo Airport - the culprit was the blanket. I transferred it to handcarry and added in my Jeju loots, the luggage was exactly 20kg.

Anyway what really surprised me was you cannot enter the departure hall until 2 hours before your flight time. So take note if you're taking scoot flight back too, it's pointless going to the airport 3 hours ahead.

Tax refund was easy, just follow the instructions, submit your request before entering the departure gate, and queue at the tax refund "cashier" inside the departure hall. I did all my Seoul and Jeju refunds here.

Thank you for reading my solo adventures, and hope they will be useful for you in some ways!